Nearly 500 cyclists killed or injured in Northamptonshire since 2016 as council urged to improve safety

Nearly 500 cyclists were killed or injured on roads in Northamptonshire in the last four years with the council warned to improve safety.

Official government data shows there were 125 cycling casualties in the county in 2019 and with more people getting on their bikes as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, campaigners are calling for more action.

Northamptonshire County Council insists cyclists' and pedestrians' safety is of 'paramount importance' to the local authority with recent central funding going towards improvements.

Daisy Narayanan, director of urbanism at walking and cycling charity Sustrans, said safety is a key barrier to more people taking up cycling.

“While cycling is a relatively safe activity, we need to continue to make our streets safer for people who cycle and to increase people’s perception of safety,” she said:

“In order to ensure cycling safety across the board, we need strong leadership in walking and cycling at the local level.

“Local authorities should work to create safer, better streets and places through the implementation of protected cycle routes and low traffic neighbourhoods, whilst taking into account the local context.”

Three cyclists were killed in Northants last year, according to figures from the Department for Transport analysed by the JPIMedia Data Unit, which this newspaper is part of.

The number of injuries and deaths involving people on bikes has not changed very much across the county since 2016.

Wellingborough has the highest proportion of casualties and Daventry has the lowest, while Kettering saw the greatest increase in incidents from 2016 to 2019 - double.

Only incidents reported to police are included, while figures prior to 2016 cannot be compared as many police forces changed their definition of a serious injury.

Council cabinet member for highways and place Jason Smithers said: “The safety of local pedestrians and cyclists is of paramount importance to us.

"We consistently analyse all road casualty data to detect trends, identifying whether there are any particular areas or issues demanding intervention.

“This year, the 'emergency active travel fund' from central government has allowed us to implement a number of extra walking and cycling schemes to improve routes for pedestrians and cyclists in the area.

"We have since also received further tranche two funding to build upon these schemes in the near future.

“In addition to this, we have recently consulted on the Northampton Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan, which outlines procedures for improving cycling infrastructure in the town.

"We expect this to form the basis of further funding bids in future and, before Christmas, we will also be launching similar consultations on the Northampton to Wellingborough and Rushden & Higham Ferrers local cycling and walking infrastructure plans.”